Review Demo - Fender American Elite Telecaster

Read the review: www.premierguit...
There are vintage guitar fans, and then there are vintage Telecaster fanatics. True Telecaster purists turn up their noses at “improvements” like individual string saddles. They snort derisively at contoured bodies and low-noise pickups. The Telecaster design was perfect in the 1950s, damn it, and it’s perfect today.
Does that sound like you? Then move along-there’s nothing to see here.
But if you like the idea of a Telecaster packed to bursting with savvy modern updates, man, have I got an axe for you.
Reet Elite
The American Elite adheres to the classic Tele profile and traditional Telecaster design elements-at least when viewed from the front. Our review model’s body wears a lovely and flawless three-tone burst finish, framed by understated white binding. Its neck and fingerboard are maple, though the model is available with a rosewood fingerboard and in multiple finishes.
But the instant you strap on the Elite, you know you’re not in Vintageland anymore. There’s the comfy body bevel, and the modern neck-body joint with its asymmetric plate. The neck contours are a world apart from an old-school Tele. The neck employs a compound radius (9.5" at the nut, flattening out to 14" up high) and a grip that gradually transitions from C to D shape. The feel is light, slender, and wicked fast.
To continue reading the review, visit: www.premierguit...

[@nevadasmith4964]

Love the white binding gives it a touch of class

[@ernieflanaganstingraybassm1463]

Exactly i have a 2007 Stingray bass black metal flake and i love that color and that white or pearl binding is awesome on a tele like ol'e Merle had !! take care Nevada !!

[@KirkRedgate]

I bought this guitar few months ago and I couldn't be happier, the finish looks sexy and sounds amazing, never played a guitar with such ease. Money well spent.

[@neilgilham4120]

Kirk Redgate same here! I got the limited aqua finish. But damn she plays like Butter😎😎🤙🏻🤙🏻

[@bigcat81]

click on @00:23 for a surprise.

[@reddikken]

bigcat81 Your comment made my day!

[@vicenteenriquevillanuevaqu3574]

bigcat81 p

[@ajajoya2784]

@04:21 for you!

[@danielkohler9371]

:)

[@ententchen]

lol

[@LIKWID]

Love these videos, never fails to put a smile on your face with John's playing. Great stuff PG!!

[@Riverdeepnwide]

John, re the disappearing plastic switch knob (11:22) I've found two effective remedies; Not Bad fix: Pull the plastic knob off and turn it upside down, epoxy fill the void surrounding the shaft slot (not in the slot itself) replace it on the switch when hardened. It gives the plastic a little less give when you hit the switch and stays in place better. It can still get knocked off unexpectedly though if you're really going for it. Excellent fix: Have a machinist turn a brass, aluminium or stainless steel ring to lightly press into that void. It will have to be measured carefully to not crack the knob yet provide grip around the switch shaft. This fix never comes off unless you pull it straight up as intended. Almost as if Leo himself designed it! Thanks for your great video.

[@AllenPinchloaf]

Not only do they help with intonation but thanks to locking tuners I'm no longer lactose intolerant!

[@edgarpatlan5719]

lmao

[@AvivZan]

The Piece \ Improv at the start was fantastic. Thanks for that!

[@chariasu]

Amazing tone. I feel this tone is so useful that I can use it with any amp or pedal. Of course, the original series has legendary great tone, but sometimes I feel it difficult to play because of its unique treble.

[@mikeslominsky]

I love your reviews and interviews and your playing. This review sealed the deal for me to buy an Elite. Thank you so much for all of your work!

[@budandbean1]

Love the intro John, you make me happy just to listen...

[@haveguitar]

Looks like a fabulous guitar and it sounds great too... serious playing as well! 🖒

[@albg9272]

once again, John fucking shredding it up!

[@incubism]

Bought one on impulse and have developed a deep respect for it, they are a solid axe.

[@jonwarner1762]

"bass boat sparkle" haha! my new favorite finish terminology.

[@neil222222]

Just picked up this guitar with the same finish in unplayed condition. Beautiful

[@blackpieceofwhite]

Love this guitar, again John another great video great balance of information and playing not too much of one or the other. I have the maple fretboard of this guitar absolutely love it.

[@elwinransom6232]

Bohlinger doesn't seem completely enamored with it. But it makes for a better review, pointing out both the strengths and weaknesses.

[@Guitarlord26]

John! Great review and great playing as always.. you rule.

[@colaboytje]

I played this exact model today. And it was fantastic. I own a standard tele, but this one was amazing. Maybe I played an exeptionally good one.

[@Guitarwizza1]

"I Can't Stop Loving You " good review.

[@nicholaskimpel]

I just love what you're playing at the beginning. Outstanding. Good review too, thanks.

[@joshs5135]

Wanted this since I saw Jake Elwald from MoBo with one. I think I’m finally gonna break and get one

[@zoesthebestdamnthing]

i am in love with this guitar.

[@mihalykort84]

Just to say that my version of the "Elite Fender Telecaster" was a black bodied, maple neck, with "lace" pickups set at right angles, and "Active" rather than passive - so a 9V battery was required to be installed every now and again. Not that I didn't /like/ the tone, it was actually pretty amazing, and the layout of similar in style to a gibson (tone/volume for each of bridge and neck pickups) was kind of more "natural" to me - having been brought up on a memphis SG copy, and the idea that you could dial in tone was part of my natural experience of what was possible on guitar - so at first I thought it was somehow more that you could compared to what at the time I thought of as a "restricted" or "constrained" availability of tones, but sadly after playing it for a few gigs it dawned on me that the active circuitry required the constant replacement of the battery and it became a constant struggle keeping it up while not earning enough to suport the guitar's demand for "more power". I'm not necessarily against "active" pickups, but I think just about every "tele" player would kind of prefer the sweet and still potentially aggressive tones available from - guess what? Two pickups, bridge and neck, with only a basic tone control between. Humph? I don't disagree. To be honest, we do know now that "Tone" comes mainly from our fingers and with simple subtle volume control for attack, any other extra thing we probably can "dial in" with careful adjustment of the amplifier's gain or even maybe with tasteful use of various footpedals so I guess all I want to say is that I do miss my Elite Tele, but I think I'm probably better off with my Squire Tele, because it really is up to me to make those strings sound and I can't blame my equipment, i have to own my mistakes and try to keep trying to make it better.

[@ernieflanaganstingraybassm1463]

Great job Mr John, great sounding Geetar lol and i loved your behind the nut bends, I'm a Bassman who always enjoys a great guitar picker and a drummer who plays in the pocket and you are one of my fav pickers in Nashville take care your old friend Ernie.....

[@bucki21]

Excellent opening I can't stop loving you. Really digging the 4th gen pups

[@PeterDad60]

Really enjoyed your playing. I came for the Tele Elite.

[@theexpert8163]

I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO ALL AND ANY VIDEOS BY JOHN , WHO IS THE BEST BY FAR , HANDS DOWN !!!!!!!!!!

[@PaulMcCaffreyfmac]

I'd be interested to hear how locking tuners help the intonation

[@rstlesswarrior]

John might have meant that it stays intonated because the strings won't go easily out of tune. But maybe he, like most guitar players, likes to throw around guitar-buzzwords.

[@panhandlegeardemos6837]

Yeah I didn't think tuners had anything to do with intonation. Maybe he misspoke.

[@johnbohlinger4868]

Yup... I meant it helps with string slippage.. I misspeak often. I also mis-pick, mis-play, misunderstand, am misundestood and make lots of mistakes. Thanks for watching.

[@PaulMcCaffreyfmac]

....and you're missed when you're not there. You're welcome

[@johnbohlinger4868]

Haa... thank you. Cheers.

[@DMSProduktions]

John, lovely Tele, however, I am sure you want to show it in its best light. Make SURE, the guitar is CLEAN before you do a close up panno of it! It looked disgusting esp on the scratch plate with all that greasy finger marks and on the body too! Nothing I hate more on a guitar or glass bench tops/windows/mirrors are greasy smudges and marks! Fender are paying you to show off this beautiful axe! Show it in PRISTINE condition. And yes I know, black is such a HARD colour to keep clean! It's just little touches like that, that DO get noticed! GREAT demo and playing as usual! My 2nd Tele I built has 5 way switching from 2 pick ups inc the series mod. It is a seriously GOOD tone for a Tele! Fat but bright all at the same time! Rock on!

[@brotothewilliams9890]

Dude clean guitars are ugly chipped paint with a used guitar look is the best

[@Anson120]

I love fender mods. The grease bucket circuit is amazing.

[@lance134679]

Thank you for the demo. I haven't bought one (though I was tempted), but I did try out three of the natural finish Elite Tele's with the maple fingerboard, and all three were consistently good. The noiseless pickup technology is about perfect as it cuts the hum without changing the tone of the single coil pickups in a way that I can discern. I currently have a Select Strat, which they didn't do this year, but the Elite line takes its place at the top of the production range. I'd say if you can't afford a custom shop Tele, this is the one for you. Locking tuners and good noiseless pickups are nice to have already installed on the guitar. The only thing I would change are the bridge saddles, which I'd switch out for string savers.

[@neoaureus]

Youve actually managed to capture the tone of the Elite very well...where I have played them it sounds like this !

[@markgowans]

This might seem like an odd question on a video reviewing a telecaster but I was wondering if those knobs would fit on a stratocaster. I've been looking at maybe getting an elite stratocaster but I really dont like those plastic knobs its has. I would much rather have the knobs from the telecaster.

[@imacrow4292]

Love that S-1 switch! Tele HH please. All black-YES!!!

[@Trivette_williams]

I love how the elites are super thin as opposed to the normal teles which are so thick.

[@soofitnsexy]

body or tone??

[@Trivette_williams]

@@soofitnsexy body

[@soofitnsexy]

@@Trivette_williams thanks im actually shopping for an elite tele or strat....my only problem here is the sound....not sure it has enough Fender POP

[@Trivette_williams]

@@soofitnsexy I was gonna buy the new fender ultra telecaster but i ended up liking another guitar better and bought that one. But I'm gonna still buy the ultra telecaster. You should check it out too. It has vintage noiseless pickups.

[@Countrballs291]

Nice vid bro. Please. Is that Guitar an american Guitar or mexican or japanese? Is it a professional Guitar or for intermediate guitarist?

[@ricktherrien8235]

It would be American if it’s an Elite!!

[@PC160]

Thanks, John!

[@rubenreza]

Love the Spinal Tap quote. :-)

[@Muz64]

That belly cut is a big deal to me. I don't have a beer but I like the comfort anyway.

[@petebeck3181]

Great review!! Amazing skills!! Sign me up for some lessons John!!

[@wamgoc3637]

I definitely enjoy these videos.John, keep it up. I will say I love the compound radius necks on so many of these new Fenders but the aesthetics, no, I want them to look vintage. Althiugh I really want them to cut the rails down on the bridge:no one has played a Tele with the ashtray on it since before Chrissie Hynde was conceived.

[@DaxstersDangerZone]

Does the rosewood fingerboard come with every Ebony mystic black version?

[@nationalist1969]

Why no ebony fret board, isn’t that the one to get of the mystic black elite tele??

[@OldSethOnetooth]

I really like that, a worthy addition to the Tele line Re the bit of Hendrix at the end, the solo on Purple Haze was played on a Tele

[@zachsbc]

Nah, that's a myth. Redding borrowed a Tele (that he previously sold) and gave it to Jimi for a gig. This was after Purple Haze was recorded. There is zero evidence that Jimi recorded anything on a Telecaster.

[@soofitnsexy]

no he didnt

[@bryanmchugh1307]

I want this guitar very badly. Would keep the Noiseless neck pup but change out the bridge for something that can do Slayer with everything turned up but then be also capable of all the traditional tele bridge tones with a simple turning back a couple dials...

[@jimdeeds]

Great review John!

[@gardnercalibuso]

My dream Tele!

[@JIMJAMSC]

Love the neck and tone but mine was far from "elite". The high E kept popping off, replaced the guide with one flush with the wood. S1 switches are crap and just something else to fail. The wire on the neck pu is very VERY frail. Needs to have a blob of epoxy/shoegoo etc on it where it attached to the eyelet If you take off/replace the pick guard be very careful as I found it impossible to find the latest pu replacement. The grub screws are still all different sizes and strip,round off wrenches easily. The binding at the bout where it bend towards the neck is slightly kinked. Most of these are no biggie but at $1800 should not be there. That said the neck is incredible.

[@trashcommunism2692]

That's a really cool Tele.

[@eliaskujansuu2250]

that bend on 0:16 lol looked so funny

[@imannonymous7707]

Looks comfortable for sure i prefer the maple board tho.....i would buy 1 if money wasnt so dear Im not sure locking tuners increase stability n intonation tho.....i been told thryre really intended to facilitate fast string swaps John ur a great player man

[@gustavomendez6279]

im annonymous I‘m with you man. Replaced the stock tuners on my American Special and the two things I like... 1. They hold tune better. 2. They really do make string changes much faster.

[@iandonald1523]

Late to the party... But... Amazing playing man!

[@jimix5708]

Nice surprise with Hendrix at the end

[@tony.guitarplayer]

I can't stop loving you - Elvis Presley

[@brandonb2623]

What's the song he plays at the beginning??? John please do a lesson on that!

[@johnbohlinger]

I can't stop loving you, Ray Charles is my hero.

[@MoooseBlood]

Really like that S1 button. Gives it a cool story.

[@JIMJAMSC]

Its cheaply made and I would not trust it if touring. In addition to mine, I know 2 others who have issues with them. Also they are a pita to replace.

[@MoooseBlood]

Man that's really disheartening to hear. Especially given the price point of this guitar and that the button being one of the most redeeming qualities, you'd think they would make it more durable.

[@JIMJAMSC]

I am old school and the less moving parts the better. I prefer basic wiring. I took it apart and imo its just cheap. The same could be said for Gibson and others. If you have basic guitar repair skills don't let this keep you from buying. Although, I would find one used and let the orig owner take the steep decrease the value.

[@zerogreenred]

I would agree; the less and the simpler the better. I miss the simple times when Fender made just a few guitars and they had very few options, but they all had one thing in common; they were all set up to play out of the box and came with a quality case. If I were Fender, I would sell two models of each instrument, a basic model at around $300.00 and an Elite model at $1000.00. Period. The last few Fenders I have bought, I have returned because the setups were terrible and the quality control was poor. I would price this guitar in the $1000 - $1200 range because I would probably have to spend a few hundred dollars just to make it playable. I bought a new Strat Deluxe ($799); it was near impossible to get the bridge parallel to the body; the routing on the tremolo cavity wasn't deep enough and the controls were of poor quality so I sent it back. I bought a David Murray Strat ($1000) and spent countless hours and money trying to get a playable instrument. There was no shielding in the control cavity, so I put in some double sided conductive copper foil in the instrument. I put the pickguard on and the middle pickup wouldn't work. I found after 3 hours that the center lug on the 5 way switch was shorting out against the copper foil; either the control cavity routing was too shallow or the switch was out of spec. I ended up putting a piece of black electrical tape under the lug; it was an aggravating mess. It is a shame that one has to spend close to two thousand dollars to get a respectable instrument.

[@zerogreenred]

Last year I bought a $500 G&L Tribute Semi-Hollow Telecaster from MF on sale. For the money; nice fret work, nice neck; not to big, not too small. Excellent quality 18:1 tuners, with a top dollar switch and volume and tone pots, they were just massive and smooth. Nice tight neck pocket and good upper fret access (nice profile where the neck meets the heel). I took the instrument to my Luthier and he said a fret job would be a waste of money. I did completely shield the guitar and put in a dummy coil for the Bridge pickup; it was just too noisy. Other than that it has been a great guitar and I play it very night. Fender should take notice.........

[@stanzb3897]

2:52 I was hoping for La Grange by ZZ Top

[@scaredypicker]

It's annoying that you have to get the Elite now to get a belly cut and individual bridge saddles on a Tele, unless you want the shawbucker one... should have got a standard when I had the chance

[@TheYearThree]

I think there are belly cuts on the Deluxe Teles from the Am Pro line

[@thelowmein9143]

Perhaps my ear just isn’t trained to hear it, but the S-1 switch didn’t seem make a lot of difference to me.

[@markd4768]

Great review! Perfect tele!

[@sevensongsful]

Intonation is adjusted at the saddles--sorry, you said it twice

[@midwestfisherman]

Bass boat sparkle baby!

[@kandyrew]

reminds me a lil of the japanese aerodyne teles from 2004

[@addictedtogear]

What is noislessish? Either they are or they are not. Which is it?

[@christianboddum8783]

Depending on the design, if there is a dummycoil on the bottom, which I suspect, it can be tuned to where 75% of the hum is bucked but high end is still preserved, where a 100% humbucking will kill some highs. getting the hum 75% down will most likely work for you and take your mind of it. FWIW

[@addictedtogear]

So they are less noisy but not noiseless?

[@christianboddum8783]

exactly ;-)

[@addictedtogear]

Got it. Keep up the good work!

[@Quicksilver_Cookie]

Will it depend on how a dummy coil is wound? I mean, how do you get different degrees of cancellation? I'd suspect ratio between number of rounds coil is wound in pickup and hum-cancelling coil will have something to do with it.

[@larrytaylor935]

Locking tuners help with intonation? I don't think so.

[@michaelbalance98]

I think they do, to some degree. I think what he means is that the locking tuners help keep you in tune, and it's easier for string changing, and that the intonation won't get all wonky if you have them installed on your guitar.

[@sailjunkie]

Bohlinger is smokin' as usual.

[@jackfate5412]

Noiseless pups??? I heard buzz or am I carzy? Just what is meant by noiseless?

[@soofitnsexy]

u may be hearing the room electricity wiring the walls etc

[@thpark8189]

Nice playing.

[@alexisalescio1562]

beautifull guitar

[@DiedrichKnickerbocker1783]

It's almost as if Fender's new pickups sound better through a aggressive rig.

[@bismuthcrystal9658]

It is like it is sixty year-old technology and they got it right the first time, isn't it? Huh? Huh?

[@efiking1]

Wow Just wow

[@darrellmiddleton6615]

When you review a telecaster you should play it like Michael Algar

[@bryanmchugh1307]

that neck looks to die for. The sparkle black paint belongs on old cars not guitars.

[@nevadasmith4964]

is it my imagination the Tele has that deep growling sound that's in a Strat?

[@bobbillnolan7644]

Someone’s been watching , Ace Ventura, Pet Detective

[@guitarguy97]

I just have to say, John B is one of the sickest players ive ever seen and highly underrated.

[@fridaymiles]

Awesome demo.

[@jacobmcvay123]

This is making me want to trade my strat for a tele I can’t afford both.

[@pegun]

Duct taped jeans, now that's cool!

[@Grant_Ferstat]

Hmm..I'm not sure whether it's the guitar or another part of the chain but I didn't really here it as a "good rich tone"..more a slightly processed sounding rather bland tone. Neither the spank of of a 60's Cropper think nor the rawness or balls of the early blackguards.

[@mattlillis6152]

It’s stupid but I have never been crazy about the look of a Tele so I have never owned one even though they are probably the best electric guitar

[@vhollund]

sounds awesome probably expensive

[@dewaynewhite2928]

Cadillacs of guitars

[@andrelangenbach4202]

Nice lighting, looks likeThe Hulks slim cousin :) Guitar is nice but too expansive for me. But great demo like always Mr. B. :-)

[@lyesryes]

It's a nice guitar... but it really doesn't sound anything like a telecaster to me. Doesn't have that classic fender tone.

[@lyesryes]

Listen to the song Figures by Whitest Boy Alive. That tone. (Or any other song from their first album)

[@lyesryes]

***** That's... not how tone works... it's like a color. you can't describe the color red, you have to see the color red to know what it looks like.

[@DiedrichKnickerbocker1783]

Do you not like noiseless single coils in general?

[@lyesryes]

John Hardin I used to have a noiseless in the bridge of my thinline, but it sounded very different from this one. It was most likely a different noiseless model though.

[@DiedrichKnickerbocker1783]

lyesryes Okay.

[@brisson182]

Click on 04:21 for a double surprise

[@arnolddealiii4259]

Sounded like he was using a compressor. Not that I care if he did or didn't, but if he did he didn't mention it. Nobody plays telecaster and chicken picks without a compressor on.

[@johnbohlinger]

That amp has some nature tube compression that works really well.

[@Racoldgin]

So awesome, he plays the shit out of these N4's, but at the end 10:50 first, he forgets the name of the S1 switching system, then he proceeds to burn Fender.......haha

[@AdanaliJustin]

want it so bad

[@Adivaldo50]

cara muito irada

[@longjaw1]

Roseboard board looks very light and dry.

[@StephenAndrew777]

"Noiseless-ish." lol.

[@foorankoo9274]

Price is about $2,000. I think I'll see the review for a $600 Telecaster

[@vonholland64]

Foo Rankoo the player is pretty damn good. Js

[@tonytribble2977]

Beautiful guitar, but the American Special blows the Elite away in sound & playability . I thought the Players Series sounded at least as good.

[@donmunson4802]

To be honest, my 2006 Baja is a much more versatile guitar. I did not hear anything new from this model.

[@chunk4funk]

The Telenger

[@MrAlexhollins]

An out of phase button on the tone would work as well.

[@spartan8390]

Not a fan that one Fender key will open all other like cases like the one you showed.